Information on >
Chester Food & Drink Festival 2006

On safari with the Chester Food & Drink Festival

Rural ‘Safari’ Bus Tours are an added reason to visit Chester’s 5th Food and Drink Festival this year. The new excursions take to the road in search of the best food and drink products on offer in their ‘natural habitats’ across the region.

Over the three days of events taking place in the Taste Marquee at the Chester Food & Drink Festival, April 15 to 17, the Safari Bus will leave from the Marquee in Castle Square or the Chester Visitor Centre in Vicars Lane.

Gerald Tattum, Tourism Development Officer for Chester City Council, said: “This is a great, fun opportunity for visitors to the Food & Drink Festival who come from all over the world. It gives an extra dimension to the Festival by giving passengers the opportunity to learn more about the places that make some of the best food and drink served on their tables. In addition they get to see the picturesque landscape of Cheshire and North Wales.”

The Nibble of Cheshire Tour will visit Cheshire Farm Ice-cream at Tattenhall and there will be an Alice in Wonderland Tour that will take visitors on a magical mystery trip that enters the Eat Me, Drink Me world of Cheshire born author Lewis Carroll. The Tour will visit Grappenhall and Daresbury Church with its memorial Cheshire Cat window and stop off for some tastes of the county on the way.

The Rural Safari Tour also winds through Bangor-On-Dee on The Bite the Dragon Tour and skirts through not the Serengeti but instead parts of Shropshire, taking in idyllic countryside coupled with traditional fare. There will also be a trip to historical pubs in England and Wales on the Ale of Two Countries Tour, as well as a Shorter Shropshire Saunter that will take in several Castles in the area as well as allowing visitors to sample some of the region’s best tastes. There are also two evening trips that take guests on a spooky Ghost Bus ride that examines eerie goings on in and around the ancient city of Chester with a pub stop to fortify the spirits.

Chester’s Food and Drink Festival is organised on behalf of Chester City Council with support from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), Visit Chester & Cheshire; the tourism board for Cheshire and Warrington, Cheshire County Council, Made in Cheshire and North West Fine Foods.

Tickets cost £7.99 and £5.99 concessions, excluding refreshments and any admission costs. Tickets are available from the Chester Visitor Centre, the Town Hall Tourist Office and on board the bus. To book tickets for the Rural Safari Bus Tours please call 01244 351609 or book online from April 3 at www.visitchester.com and you are asked to book early to avoid disappointment.

The Rural Safari Bus Tours initiative is funded by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) of the EU, DEFRA and the Welsh Assembly Government through the Northern Marches – England and Northern Marches Cymru Leader + Programmes and Cheshire Rural Enterprise.

Ends: 500 words

PHOTOS (300dpi plus), PRESS OFFICE & REGULAR UPDATES at http://www.marketingprojects.co.uk/news.asp?clientid=2 linking from the Festival web site at www.chesterfoodanddrink.com

Notes

The Bite the Dragon sightseeing tour leaves Castle Square at 2pm on Saturday April 15 and takes visitors across the Welsh border to Bangor-On-Dee, which is the only racecourse in Britain without a grandstand. Passengers will also be shown traditional crafts at Johnson’s Basket Makers and the Plassey Craft Centre for a taste of Welsh food before returning to Chester. Guests will then have a chance to go on the Ghost Bus, which leaves the Chester Visitor Centre at 7pm.

The Nibble of Cheshire Tour leaves Castle Square on Sunday April 16 and features Stretton Water Mill, Cheshire Farm Ice Cream, The Chocolate Shop at Tarporley, Beeston Castle and Cheshire Candle Workshops. The bus returns by 6pm in time for the Ale of Two Countries Tour which leaves the Chester Visitor Centre at 7pm and looks at drink across the ages with visits to traditional countryside pubs en route in England and Wales.

The Alice in Wonderland tour leaves Castle Square at 10.30am on Monday April 17 and traces associations Lewis Carroll had with the area with tasty stop offs in and around Frodsham. There will be a Shorter Shropshire Saunter leaving Castle Square at 2.30pm and taking in several other Castles in the area as well as a taste of the county, returning to Castle Square at 6pm in time for another Ghost Bus

Background

Chester’s Food and Drink Fringe Festival will also take place around the City from April 12 to 22 2006 involving special offers for accommodation and eating out to excite the whole family. There will also be the famous Cheese Rolling ceremony on March 15, the Bottle Cap Mosaic World Record Attempt on April 3 and the Ale Assize around the City on April 22.

Nearly 100 producers and exhibitors now completely fill the taste marquee. Each will be bringing their own skills and produce from Cheshire, nearby counties and around the world to be part of the Festival.

There are to be seminars and competitions in micro brewing, wines, sausages and cheeses and the opportunity to taste local paté, black pudding, bread, cereals, oils, pies, meat, fish, cheeses, chocolates, liqueurs and even a juice bar.

The prestigious gala dinner and awards ceremony takes place on Tuesday 18th April. Entries for the award categories are already being received on the web site.

For more information about other events happening over the Chester Food & Drink Festival please visit www.chesterfoodanddrink.com.

PHOTOS (300dpi plus), PRESS OFFICE & REGULAR UPDATES at http://www.marketingprojects.co.uk/news.asp?clientid=2 linking from the Festival web site at www.chesterfoodanddrink.com

Press Contacts: Jane Harrad-Roberts Mob: 07785 395705 Phil Brotherhood Mob: 0788 44 93370 MARKETING PROJECTS : Tel: 01244 330000 Email: foodies@marketingprojects.co.uk

Image Library